There are few people as synonymous with loss, heartache and mystery than Lindy Chamberlain.
We’re all familiar with the story of the Chamberlain family. A holiday to Uluru in 1980 became a nightmare when Lindy and her husband Michael’s nine-week-old daughter Azaria disappeared one night from their tent at a public campsite.
Lindy’s famous cry that “a dingo took my baby”, her trial for murder and imprisonment in 1982 drew media attention around the world.
New evidence saw Lindy pardoned and released in 1986, bringing to an end a tragic and baffling case.
Lindy was imprisoned for the murder of her daughter Azaria (Image: Getty).
On this episode of Anh’s Brush With Fame, Anh Do tries to capture the hurt he sees in Lindy’s eyes, but finds it buried beneath years of protection.
As Anh teases out the story, with each brush stroke Lindy begins to open up before eventually breaking into tears.
The episode is a reminder that it’s easy to view someone like Lindy as a headline. You designate her “the dingo took my baby” woman, without reminding yourself that she’s a mother who lost a child and went to jail.
Anh Do and Lindy pose in front of a painting, not of Lindy, in Anh’s painting studio. (Image: ABC).
In his special way, Anh allows the audience to see the person behind the portrait, before revealing what he’s painted to his subject – and to us.
The conversation with Lindy also shines a light on her subsequent dedication to legal reform following the mistakes made in her case.
Anh’s Brush With Fame airs Wednesday, 8pm, on ABC.
